Bitter When She Quit Racing In 1996, Jessie Grieco Is Back In Cycling As A Commentator.

June 10, 1998|by GARY R. BLOCKUS, The Morning Call

Jessie Grieco was just 15 when she became the youngest person to ever win The Morning Call's Rider of the Year honors at the Lehigh Valley Velodrome in Trexlertown.

That was in 1988, when the world was nothing more than a training ground full of exotic sites and velodromes she would visit over the next eight years.

"I used to have passion for it and then I had no passion," she said last Tuesday while making her first appearance at T-town in two years. "It was a relief when it was over.

"I was bitter when I quit in 1996. I think it was a combination of a few things that all came to a head. I had been around the sport for a really long time. I was naturally burned out. I had Epstein-Barr (a virus which causes infectious mononucleosis and may cause various forms of cancer). That was sort of the beginning of the end. It was never fun again. It was just never fun again."

Completing the bitter cycle, Grieco's biggest shot for the Atlanta Olympics was the points race, where she was defending national champion, and that was no chance. The women's points racer was either going to be the sprint champion or a road rider, not the Olympic Trials champion.

"The Olympic Trials cracked me," she declared. "That sent me over the edge. I remember racing after that, thinking, `Where are you going? You can't afford to spend another four years of your life racing your bike for the same situation to happen.' I needed to move on."

And move on, she has. Now 24, and still with her trademark short blonde hair, Grieco is carving herself a little niche, and perhaps a piece of history in another area of cycling.

She was in T-town to announce the Tuesday Night Racing series, which was called off due to threat of tornadoes in the area. She hung around for the season-opening debut of the American Team Cycling League, then headed to Philly on Sunday for the First Union Liberty Classic, formerly known as the CoreStates USPro Championships.

But she's not going to race. She's through with that.

"I've been on my bike maybe six times in the past two years," she said, noting that she is pursuing a degree in communications with an emphasis on public relations at San Diego State University.

Grieco was commentating on the women's race in Philadelphia for the Outdoor Life Network.

"I was always fascinated with presentation," she said. "I guess a little over six months or so ago, I made some phone calls. I said, `Hey, this is your opportunity. There are no women commentators doing cycling. They have men commentating on the women's races. This is your opportunity to find a niche.'"

Grieco is contracted with the Outdoor Life Network to do commentary on the Hewlett-Packard Race and the American Team Cycling League Championships in T-town on Aug. 14.

"I did announcing at the EDS Track Cup in Los Angeles," Grieco said of her first gig. "It was low key, but I got a pretty warm response. I did the announcing in L.A. just to get warmed up. To be honest, you lose all the language, like `breakaway' and `coming around the outside.' I had been out of it for two years and I lost all the language, how bike racers talk as the event is unfolding. It helped me get it back."

Her second job was commentating on the Little 500 track race at the University of Indiana in Bloomington.

"My heart is in TV," she admitted. "It's been a shell-shock. You don't realize how difficult it is. My first deal was live. I was shell-shocked after, but it was such a rush ... I haven't felt a rush like the one I had after we wrapped up our second show since I won Junior Worlds in '91. It was an absolute rush."

Grieco, from Emerson, N.J., is planning to spend time with her family this summer with short trips for her television gigs.

"I haven't spent more than a two-week period with my family in five or six years," she said. "My sister-in-law is a week past due with a child. It's just so nice to be home. We actually go up to Cape Cod on weekends because my parents have a house there. I actually go on vacation and I don't have to bring my bike!"

Grieco said she tired of the constant traveling and training involved with cycling, She's lived in the same apartment in San Diego for about 1-1/2 years, has a dog, runs when she wants to in the mornings and is enjoying the life of being a student.

"I'm just going to try and do as much TV as I can for the next two or three years and see how I feel about it, if I want to keep doing sports or break into something else like being an anchor," she said.

Actually, Grieco admitted she wants to be an anchor, but she knows cycling and wants to use it as a launching pad to bigger things.

"I needed mental stimulation, and school's been great. It gives you a different perspective."

Grieco likes her new perspective on cycling and her dreams for the future. She's especially looking forward to this summer of her heart's content.

"I'm just happy to be back in T-town," she said. "I think (velodrome director) Pat (McDonough) has some great ideas abut racing, especially with the league, and I hope I can be part of that and help make it more exciting for the spectators.

"I'd like to see a lot more interaction between the spectators and the athletes. It's getting to meet these guys, bring back some personality, some relationships with the riders. I'd like to bring that back."